


Fall of the Gods

by fatalescorpio



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, First War with Voldemort, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Slow Burn, Sort of? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 13:35:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28832037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fatalescorpio/pseuds/fatalescorpio
Summary: The Volant family wasn't unlike any other wizarding one of their time.Just one more pure-blood line among many. A family where the women were destined to marry and the men to work.But the traditions came to a halt with Althea, a girl whose childhood had been somewhat ordinary with the exception of a few mishaps here and there - she had been absolutely normal.Until one day the voices began murmuring, threatening her sanity with glimpses of the future and the agony it brought with it.In the early stages of developing the Inner Eye, Althea Volant finds herself clinging to reality, praying to not lose herself in the depths of her subconscious, where the voices no longer whispered, but wailed and cried in desperation, clawing at her mind until they drew blood.SLOW BURNLONG AND DESCRIPTIVE
Relationships: James Potter & Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	Fall of the Gods

**Author's Note:**

> THIS WORK CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN 
> 
> WATTPAD: @-fatale-

Not unlike countless witches and wizards of the time, Althea Volant had been taught the importance of blood-purity within the magical world from an early age. Her mother, a not very pleasant woman with a bony frame and long sable hair, had made sure to raise her only child in a household that ensured that her daughter would grow up to share her beliefs and ideals, ones that left no room for those of polluted blood or affection for those by the name of 'mudbloods'.

On the other hand, her father, a muscular man due to his job as an Auror and kind sky-blue eyes, had never truly understood the fanatism of those who praised 'purity'. Althea liked her father better.

Luckily for the young witch, Elysia was rarely home, too busy taking care of her sister back in France, who had a tendency to fall ill, leaving Althea and her father alone for months at a time.

Sorgin Volant and Elysia had been forced to marry right after they had graduated Hogwarts and Beuxbatons respectively. Needless to say, they never found love in the other.

During her childhood, Althea was a quiet girl, having learned the hard way that a lady should never contradict a man, nor do anything that would turn heads. Her mother was one for traditionalism, always keeping her daughters hair carefully pinned back, laced with intricate ribbons and flowers, the girl was the epitome of sophistication and innocence.

Never allowed to play outside to maintain her flawlessly pale complexion free of whatever threat lurked outside, awaiting to bruise her skin and dirty her pristine raiments. The girl was not allowed to partake in sports or anything involving paint, interactions with people of a lower social status were considered preposterous, yet, all social contact she had for the first few years of her sheltered life, were house elves and maids.

The parents seemed to take notice, and took actions by introducing her to a chubby kid with a twinkling coffee-colored stare and hair to match, Kai Barlow. The boy was to be the heir of the Barlow bloodline and fortune, someone of great importance, but all his parents saw when looking at their child was a walking disappointment — tripping over his own words and too timid to leave his mothers' side, clutching her skirt when walking down the street, Kai was far from what the Barlow family had expected.

Both kids being too young, too naive, too shielded from what society truly was, saw the opportunity to hang out with someone their age and eagerly grasped it, desperately seeking for comfort in any other person other than the people in charge of raising them.

As time passed and more playdates were scheduled, both children turned out to find in the other a feeling of relief, they enjoyed the presence of the other, counting the minutes until they met again. They seemed to have become attached by the hip.

  
~  
  


By the time their Hogwarts acceptance letters rolled in, the pair had bonded like twins would, silent conversations taking place with simple glances during dinner, understanding each other without a word being uttered.

When the sorting hat ripped them apart by placing Althea in Gryffindor and Kai in Slytherin, the parents had thought that it would mean a premature end to the friendship they had created, but much to their surprise, it only seemed to make them grow closer. 

Sorgin and Elysia didn't think much of Althea's sorting — her father had been a proud Ravenclaw, to the point where he would still silently root for the blue and bronze house to win the Quidditch Cup by the end of the school year, and her mother couldn't be bothered to learn what each house represented nor what their values were.

~  
  


Her second year at Hogwarts came and left without much ruckus other than the fact that her sleeping arrangments had been modified — the Crowling twins (Altheas' previous dorm-mates) had been transferred to Koldovstoretz, the Russian school of Magic, due to their parents' fear of what would be of the British Wizarding Community with the Dark Lord gaining power with each passing day, and so Althea was moved to a dorm were Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Piper Nox had already been settled since the year prior.

Summer before the start of her third year became a turning point for the girl — it had been the moment she realized that being the perfect little porcelain doll her mother dreamed she would be forever, keeping under the radar, elegant and frail, rosy cheeks and unsullied dresses was not who she wanted to be any longer. Althea knew it would take time and effort to break through the person she had been molded into since birth, but she saw other kids at school sporting grins from one ear to the other, laughing and cackling, enjoying life to the fullest — the girl couldn't help but feel like she was wasting her youth and school years away.

This awakening happened after she was approached at an ice-cream shop by a rather nice-looking boy and she found herself choking on her own words, not being able to muster as much as a 'hello' in response because of her overwhelming inexperience when it came to social interactions that didn't involve Kai Barlow.

In the years to come she wondered where the boy was, what had been of him. She thought of finding him and letting him know how much of an impact he had had in her life by offering to buy her an ice-cream cone. 

  
~

And so when her third year rolled up, the girl was pushing herself out of her comfort zone like never before, this was also due to the fact that Kai, the chubby boy filled with witty remarks and nothing but adoration for his friend, had experienced a massive glow-up courtesy of his parents cutting off any and all candy off his diet, and styling his hair in any other way that wasn't the traditional bowl cut, one that made his head resemble the shape of a pea. 

As Kai began making a name for himself within the walls of the castle, fighting his way into the Quidditch team, making friends in his own house, and girls started stealing glances at him, Althea had made her very first friend outside her comfort zone — Severus Snape.

The witch excelled at Potions, so when she and the raven-haired boy were partnered up, neither had complaints on the matter, seeing as they were both top of their class, and having a skilled partner would prove to make their job considerably easier.

Small conversations were struck, and as time went by and they slowly became more at ease with the presence of the other, Althea and Severus became what one would be able to categorize as 'friends', not that either of them ever said it out loud.

Still, this didn't mean that her and Lily Evans had managed to overcome that invisible wall that kept them from enjoying the presence of the other, in fact, when Althea pranked a Hufflepuff that dared make fun of her new friend, Severus, by making her face turn a darker shade of blue each time she spoke badly of him, Lily found this far from humorous, even if the girl had defended Lily's best and oldest friend.

Needless to say, the Hufflepuff's face appeared to be an engorged blueberry by the time dinner was announced. That day Althea found out that she quite enjoyed what the world outside of the security of her shyness had to offer — her very first act of rebellion had been a success.

This year was also the one where the popular group of boys known as The Marauders came to know of the quiet and reserved Althea.

No one knew who had been behind the prank on the Hufflepuff except for Lily, Marlene, Severus, and her other dorm-mate, Piper, until one day in the heat of the moment, Lily let slip to James that if he didn't back off and leave her alone, she would make Althea prank him too so that his head would grow to fit the size of his ego.

That day The Marauders developed a newfound respect for the timid girl that seemed to be coming out of her shell a little more every day.

~

By the time Christmas of their fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry came around, whispers and murmurs regarding Althea Volant had been making their way around her companions, not because her pimples and blemishes had cleared up, or because during the summer her body had begun developing, but because two months after the start of the first term, Althea Volant punched Severus Snape square in the face right before dinner, making the Great Hall grow eerily quiet as the boy cupped his broken nose and the girl stared at him with as much disgust as she could possibly muster behind fierce hazel eyes.

Rumor had it, he had spoken badly of those of muggle origins, but not many dared believe that story, seeing as Althea came from a family of blood-purists and her best and closest friend was a Slytherin, so why on earth would she physically assault Snape because of something like that?

Lily Evans didn't believe this either (for different reasons), in fact, the redhead gave Althea the silent treatment for what would be the remains of the school year and encouraged Marlene McKinnon to do the same. Lucky for Althea, Piper Nox was still cordial and refused to ignore her in the same crude way her other two dorm-mates were.

Still, Piper seemed to prefer the company of those sorted into Hufflepuff house when possible.

Althea refused to speak to Severus for the next few months — she had been so mad at the boy that she concocted a potion, which she gave to Kai for him to slip into Snape's morning pumpkin juice, that made his hair turn bright pink for two whole days until Madam Pomfrey and Professor Slughorn were able to brew a counter potion.

Once more, this caught the undivided attention of a certain four boys: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter, who now stared in adoration at the only person, besides themselves, who had dared prank a Slytherin so openly, Severus Snape at that.

Their respect for the girl went as far as assuming the blame for the prank after overhearing Lily Evans threatening to tell on Althea and give her a month's worth detention — The Marauders knew that if they were to assume the blame, they would walk away with nothing but a few hours of detention, mainly because not even Professors wanted to be around the troublemakers for too long or they'd go insane.

Althea never discovered this.

As time went by, Peter Pettigrew developed a crush, claiming Althea to be what he would call a 'femme fatale', a girl undoubtedly gorgeous (according to his biased opinion) and a mastermind. The other boys couldn't help but agree to some extent, the girl was good-looking, and her newly acquired extroverted personality did wonders for her.

Fourth year was also the year Althea shared her first kiss with strikingly handsome Gryffindor, Alec Silverthorn, a boy with emerald eyes and disheveled brown locks one year older than herself. She quickly became the target of all envy emanating from hormonal teenage girls that had been drooling after Alec, receiving nasty looks from females older and younger than herself.

Althea called it quits with the boy three months later, declaring she had gotten bored and that committed relationships were simply not for her.  
  


Summer before the start of her fifth year, Althea discovered her attraction to women when she and Kai decided to attend a muggle party.

By now her mother had visited four times in two years; the woman never noticed a change — Althea would comb through the soft waves of her mahogany hair, adorning it with silky periwinkle ribbons and daisies, allowing dresses to hug her body instead of the oversized shirts she stole from his father each time her mother would turn up.

As for Sorgin, he got the privilege of witnessing the evolution of his daughter — from an innocent, shy, faultless little girl, into the teen that sneaked out of the house to attend muggle parties during the summer, the one he had gotten reports about, letters from the school claiming that she had given polyjuice potion to a toad as a "science experiment", one that hid a teacher's wand for a full week so Charm lessons would be dismissed.

Sorgin being a man whose character had been forged by a classist society, a man that had married to please his family, one that never dared befriend someone who wasn't of pure blood origins, a man who passed his Hogwarts years with chin held high and watched from afar as his colleagues played under the heavy rain, found this incredibly amusing.

He would never voice his thoughts, but he was immensely grateful that his daughter, the only person in the world he had brought himself to love, had mustered the courage to be her own person, something he had never been capable of.

~

By the time fifth year rolled up, Lily and Marlene didn't seem to resent her so much, most likely forgetting they were supposed to after the summer vacation. They even went as far as pranking James Potter, Althea being the brains of the operation, after she overheard Lily complaining yet again, about the boy — she made James's voice incredibly high-pitched each time he approached the redhead with a pick-up line or with any remotely flirtatious intent, making the boy sound like a house elf.

It took James a whole week before he left his ego and dignity aside and went to Madam Pomfrey for a solution.

Around January, a party took place in the Gryffindor common room, one which students from all houses attended to celebrate the gold and scarlet Quidditch win of a match that lasted three days due to the bad weather.

That night was the one Althea tried alcohol for the first time ever — she became inebriated with ease and joined a game of a muggle game called 'spin the bottle'.

Since then, many boys approached her with the intention of asking her to Hogsmeade, but she always refused, claiming that she wasn't looking for a relationship and that after the fiasco with Alec Silverthorn the year prior, she wasn't in the mood to try again — she was 'embracing her singleness'.

Still, every weekend she would be seen linking arms with Slytherin heartthrob, Kai Barlow, as they made their way to the wizard village. This led to countless rumors about the pair being in a relationship and that being the reason as to why they both declined every single attempt made by their suitors at courting them.

They were just friends, but as long as the rumors kept the number of hysteric teens looking to get with them to a minimum, they were fine with it.

Peter Pettigrew's crush had only died down slightly after a whole year of pestering their friends with how awesome Althea was and how she had smiled at him during History of Magic, or how she let him borrow her copy of 'Unfogging the Future' during Divination when he forgot his.

Throughout the years, Althea had had numerous involvements with the group of mischiefs, occasionally uniting forces against certain students, Professors, or, at one point, taking on the ambitious quest of going against two houses at once.

It wasn't odd to see the girl around the boys anymore. Still, Althea never felt like she could call them friends.

The Marauders were a closed group, extremely protective of each other, a brotherhood of some sorts. It had dawned on everyone fairly quick; there would be no tearing them apart, and no joining them.

She enjoyed their company and reveled in their mischief-making. But that was it. She knew better than to try to push it any further. She was content with the state of things.

As for Sirius Black, the renowned second in command of The Marauders, he had a bit of harder time coming to terms with being around Althea for what would be the entirety of their fifth year.

Ever since she pranked Snape and a year later, James, the girl had won over his respects, but Sirius took pride in making girls swoon over him (The Marauders made a point of it being a way to find validation after being brought down by his family for almost two decades, but he would laugh it off and change the topic with a dismissive wave of his hand each time), and Althea Volant simply swooping in and taking the limelight didn't sit right with him.

Of course, James, Peter, and Remus assured him that he was being dramatic and no one was stealing anything away from him, that he was still the Hogwarts darling along with Alec Silverthorn and Kai Barlow, and even those two didn't have much on him. Sirius plainly scoffed and claimed that his friends lacked the striking good looks to understand the complexity of being desired by many. He was then attacked by countless pillows and had to wear a pink bow that sang a german song each time he tried to flirt with someone to redeem himself for a week (even if his friends were never offended in the first place).

  
As the months went by and the summer approached yet again, students packed away their winter robes and enjoyed the warmth that the Scottish climate had to offer, their minds at ease after a series of extremely suffocating weeks where books had been an extension of themselves.

The O.W.L.s had finally come to an end, the brisk winds had long since parted ways with Hogwarts and birds claimed their rightful place in the sky.

Everything was just right.

For now.

**COMING SOON **

_**FALL OF THE GODS** _


End file.
